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“Let’s take stock for a moment. We entered into this discussion of revelation because it is through revelation that we are supposedly made aware of God’s commands. If God is to have any direct role to play with respect to morality, either as moral dictator or moral adviser, we would need to be able to …

With the publication of The God Delusion in 2006, evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins thrust himself to the forefront of the modern atheist movement. That book has since sold over three million copies and been translated into 30 different languages. The Oxford University professor is the embodiment of the concept of the public intellectual, his activities …

By Jeffrey Tayler Whatever you do, decent progressive people, when terrorism comes up, don’t be “Islamophobic” and mention Islam! If Islam comes up anyway, do draw false equivalencies and hobble yourselves, citing Western imperialism as a moral hamartia disqualifying you from taking critical stances about the faith of a beleaguered minority. Studiously ignore freethinkers in …

By Kenneth Chang NASA will be heading to a metal world. The space agency announced on Wednesday that a spacecraft named Psyche would visit an asteroid named Psyche, one of two new missions it will be launching into the solar system in the 2020s. “For the purpose of simplicity, and out of our initial excitement, …

By Harriet Agerholm Morocco has banned burqas from being made or sold because of security concerns, the country’s media has reported. Although the government did not issue a formal announcement of the move, reports have emerged of burqa producers and retailers being issued written warnings telling them to stop making and selling the garments. The …

By Emma Graham-Harrison Kurdish authorities have shut down a key charity that was supporting women and children from the Yazidi minority who survived Isis sexual slavery. The decision to abruptly close Yazda leaves more than 1,200 women and children without material, psychological or social support, charity officials and human rights activists warn. It may also …

By Agence France-Presse in The Hague All Dutch electric trains are now powered by wind energy, the national railway company NS has said . “Since 1 January, 100% of our trains are running on wind energy,” said NS spokesman, Ton Boon. Dutch electricity company Eneco won a tender offered by NS two years ago and …

By Laurie Garrett Things are getting down and dirty now. And millions of lives are at stake. I cannot possibly state strongly enough how dangerous it is that President-elect Donald Trump has embraced the notion that vaccination is the cause of autism. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a celebrated vaccine skeptic, met with Trump on Jan. …

By Herb Silverman In 1986 Jeff Sessions, current nominee for attorney general, was nominated and rejected for a position in Alabama’s district court, primarily for having made racially insensitive remarks. There are differences of opinion over whether Sessions was then and is now a racist, which is why he is aa controversial nominee whose record …

What if you were the only atheist in Congress: What issue or piece of legislation would be your top priority? Our favorite answer wins a copy of A Brief Candle in the Dark by Richard Dawkins (no repeat winners). And please don’t forget to send in your submissions for Question of the Week! You can …

By Rachel Becker Both Europe and North America are warmed in the winter by currents circulating in the Atlantic — but climate change threatens this source of warmth. If the Earth warms too much, it’s possible that this current could collapse entirely, new research says. That would mean frigid winters for countries along the North …

By Olivia Solon Mark Zuckerberg has given more weight to the idea that he could move into politics with the announcement of a statesmanly personal challenge for 2017. In previous years the Facebook CEO has learned Mandarin, pledged to run at least a mile each day and built a virtual assistant called Jarvis to control …